The Honey Thief by Najaf Mazari, Robert Hillman

The Honey Thief by Najaf Mazari, Robert Hillman ISBN-13: 9780670026487 Hardcover: 304 pages Publisher: Viking Adult Released: April 18, 2013

Source: Review copy from the publisher.

Book Description, Modified from Back Cover:
This extraordinary book, derived from the long oral tradition of storytelling in Afghanistan, presents a mesmerizing portrait of a people who triumph with intelligence and humor over the oppression of political dictators and an unforgiving landscape. The Honey Thief reveals an Afghanistan of greater richness and humanity than is conveyed in newspaper headlines.


My Review:
The Honey Thief is a collection of folk lore stories. Some of these short stories are historical tales, others are more moral tales, but all are set in Afghanistan and come from the viewpoint of the Hazara--a minority tribe in Afghanistan. These stories give insight into the mindset and customs of these people along with a history lesson about what they've lived through. May of the stories have a rural setting and give insight into daily rural living throughout their history.

The storyteller, Najaf, understood that Westerners come from a different mindset and explained the differences with gentle humor. I found the tales interesting because they offered a look into a different culture. The recipes at the end are worth reading even if you don't cook. They give insight to the culture and some of the directions were quite funny as you'd never find them in American cookbooks: "...leave them alone for maybe half an hour. Read a book, a good one....a peaceful book" (from page 276).

Overall, I'd highly recommend this book to those who like folk lore and are interested in other cultures.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


Excerpt: Read an excerpt using Google Preview.

Prehistoric Cooking by Jacqui Wood

Prehistoric Cooking by Jacqui Wood ISBN-13: 978-0752419435 Paperback: 176 pages Publisher: Tempus Released: October 1, 2001

Source: Bought through Half.com.

Book Description from Goodreads:
Based on experimental archaeology at the author's world-famous research settlement in Cornwall, this book describes the ingredients of prehistoric cooking and the methods of food preparation.


My Review:
Prehistoric Cooking looks at what archaeology can tell us about food in prehistoric Britian. The author initially explained what archaeology has uncovered about food practices in prehistory, hunter-gatherer, bronze, and iron ages. This included types of food and how they got it (gathered wild vs. raised). I like that she doesn't think prehistoric people were stupid just because they didn't have a written history yet.

Next, she talked about the experimental archaeology she's been doing using this knowledge and the knowledge of primitive societies today to uncover likely cooking methods and recipes. She talked some about how the food was actually cooked, but she didn't give the high level of detail I was hoping for. The photographs from some of the demonstrations they've done and of some of the cooking steps for several recipes did help, though. There was enough detail that I think I could make the recipes work successfully with a little experimenting of my own.

About two-thirds of the book was recipes and related cooking methods, and they were divided into the categories: bread; dairy; meat, fish, and vegetable stews; cooking with hot stones; clay-baked foods; salt and the seashore menu; peas, beans, and lentils; herbs and spices; vegetables; yeast, wines, beer, and teas; sweets and puddings. Some of these recipes use plants that don't grow in my section of the world (southern USA), but others did. Though I didn't buy the book for the recipes, I think I'll try a couple of them since she makes it sound fun and do-able.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.

Salt Sugar Fat by Michael Moss

Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us by Michael Moss ISBN-13: 9781400069804 Hardcover: 480 pages Publisher: Random House Released: February 26, 2013

Source: eBook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Back Cover:
From a Pulitzer Prize–winning investigative reporter at The New York Times comes the explosive story of the rise of the processed food industry and its link to the emerging obesity epidemic. Michael Moss reveals how companies use salt, sugar, and fat to addict us and, more important, how we can fight back.

Every year, the average American eats thirty-three pounds of cheese (triple what we ate in 1970) and seventy pounds of sugar (about twenty-two teaspoons a day). We ingest 8,500 milligrams of salt a day, double the recommended amount, and almost none of that comes from the shakers on our table. It comes from processed food. It’s no wonder, then, that one in three adults, and one in five kids, is clinically obese.

In Salt Sugar Fat, Michael Moss shows how we got here. Featuring examples from some of the most recognizable (and profitable) companies and brands of the last half century--including Kraft, Coca-Cola, Lunchables, Kellogg, Nestlé, Oreos, Cargill, Capri Sun, and many more--Moss’s narrative is grounded in meticulous, often eye-opening research.

Moss takes us inside the labs where food scientists use cutting-edge technology to calculate the “bliss point” of sugary beverages or enhance the “mouthfeel” of fat by manipulating its chemical structure. He unearths marketing campaigns designed to redirect concerns about the health risks of their products: Dial back on one ingredient, pump up the other two, and tout the new line as “fat-free” or “low-salt.” You will never look at a nutrition label the same way again.


My Review:
Salt Sugar Fat is a food history of how processed food is made and marketed. It included interviews with the people that developed these products and information on the science behind processed food. The book is highly readable, and I found it extremely interesting.

The overall focus of the three main sections was sugar, fat, and salt. Within each section, we learned about studies done on how these ingredients effect us, on what forms we most enjoy consuming, on consumption patterns (what is our "bliss point" for sugar, and do we consume more fat if the food doesn't look fatty), and on how this has effect the nation's health. We learned how various products were first developed and the marketing strategies that lead to the success of instant pudding, processed cheese, Coca-Cola, Kool-Aid, Lunchables, and many other convenience foods.

I thought I was a good food label reader, but I learned that some healthy-sounding ingredients actually aren't--they're simply used to trick health-conscious consumers into buying their product. I learned that the food companies will slowly change the ingredients in a product without telling people, so you need to read the labels of foods that you buy regularly.

There's a lot of useful and enlightening information in this book, and I'd highly recommend it.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


Excerpt: Read an excerpt using Google Preview.

The Cat Whisperer by Mieshelle Nagelschneider

The Cat Whisperer by Mieshelle Nagelschneider ISBN-13: 9780553807851 Hardcover: 254 pages Publisher: Bantam Released: March 5, 2013

Source: eBook Advanced Reader Copy review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Back Cover:
Cat behaviorist Mieshelle Nagelschneider provides practical and effective strategies for solving feline behavior problems, from litter box issues to scratching, spraying, biting, and beyond. Central to her approach is an understanding of the unique way cats see the world--their need for safety and security, their acute territoriality, and their desire to catch and kill prey.

Her proven C.A.T. cat behavior modification plan is a commonsense course of action that can be specifically tailored to your cat in the context of its behavior problems and its particular household environment. You’ll discover how to harness the power of “friendly pheromones," how to create a litter box environment that will solve many problems, and how to end aggression in multiple-cat households.


My Review:
The Cat Whisperer is a reference book on solving a variety of common cat behavioral problems. While the instructions were easy enough to understand, I was surprised by how long it took me to completely read through this 254 page book.

The first 68 pages were mostly the author's credentials (why you should believe that she knows what she's talking about), talking about what she thinks is wrong with the system, and speculation about the motives and minds of cats. She places the blame for cat behavioral problems on humans and talked like cat owners are largely abusive toward their cats. I suspect she'd get faster cooperation from humans if she didn't talk so negatively about them.

She did make a few good points in this first section, though: cats are cats, not dogs, not humans. Cats don't act out of a desire for revenge. Getting angry or hitting them isn't generally going to help and will probably make things worse. Simply removing your attention or presence is far more effective.

Unless you're set on reading the whole book, I'd suggest jumping to chapter 2's "Elements of an Effective C.A.T. plan" and then to chapter 3's "Taming the Wild" and continuing from there. The author became more organized and used a more practical and instructional tone at that point. You can also jump directly to the chapter that talks about the problems you're having. The solutions that she suggests are sometimes quite complicated, other times relatively quick and simple. If you're having a problem, her suggestions would probably be good ones to try.

Of her suggestions, though, I would never try to reduce the confidence of a "confident," bully cat. I doubt the cat is actually confident. I've fixed this problem by building up all of my cat's confidence--in my cats' case, confidence that my attention is not a limited resource. I also made different locations my "focused attention" spots for different cats so they all got attention in places that felt safe to them. They're now relaxed and willing to share me in all locations, though they reserve first rights in their special spots.

Anyway, overall I thought that her advice would be helpful. She covered what types of medical problems might cause various behavioral problems, described a case with the problem, what might be causes of the problem, conventional advice NOT to follow, and how to change the cat's behavior using a C.A.T. format: Cease unwanted behavior, Attract to a wanted behavior or location, and Transform the territory.

The main cat problems and techniques that she covered were: introducing new cats or reintroducing known cats in a way that ensures friendly relations afterward; using friendly pheromones; creating enough territory and resources to reduce conflict over resources (which is a cause of many problems); properly playing with your cat using a prey sequence; cat aggression toward people or other pets; pooping or peeing outside of the litterbox; marking with urine or poop; excessive meowing; destructive scratching of items--no need to "declaw!", unwanted jumping up on counters or tables, overgrooming, wool sucking and chewing, and clicker training basics for cats.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


Excerpt: Read an excerpt using Google Preview.

Pasta: Recipes & Techniques by Julia della Croce

Pasta: Recipes & Techniques by Julia della Croce ISBN-13: 9781581590487 Hardback: 168 pages Publisher: Cooking Club of America Released: 1999

Source: Borrowed from my local library.

Book Description:
Pasta-based recipes, and techniques for making fresh egg pasta.


My Review:
Pasta: Recipes & Techniques is a pasta-focused cookbook with some information on making fresh pasta at home. Many of the recipes included full-color pictures of the finished dish, but step-by-step pictures were rare and mainly included when discussing a new pasta-related technique. The recipes took up 102 pages of the 168 page book and covered over 120 recipes for: pasta soups, sauces, fresh pasta dishes, dried pasta dishes, dried pasta with uncooked sauces, stuffed pasta, baked pasta dishes, festive baked pasta dishes, gnocchi and dumplings, regional specialties, and pasta deserts.

The beginning of the book gave a short history of pasta and an overview of the different types of pasta dishes the book had recipes for. Next were pictures of a wide variety of pasta types and descriptions of what types of sauces or foods that they were best with. We're given a recipe for egg pasta dough and told how to roll it out using a roller-type pasta machine. We're also told how to cut pasta by hand or using pasta tools, how to make 9 types of colored/flavored fresh pasta, making stuffed pasta (ravioli, pansotti, caramelle, tortelli, tortellini), and the proper cooking and draining of pasta.

Overall, if you're comfortable with cooking and just want some basics to try for making pasta at home, then this book will provide that. I didn't see many recipes that appealed to me, but this wasn't an American-style pasta book but one more focused on actual Italian recipes. (Though I didn't see recipes for the pasta dishes I tried and liked while briefly visiting Italy.) Anyway, my main goal was to learn more about making fresh and stuffed pastas at home, and this gave me the tips I needed to get started.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.

The Drinking Water Book by Colin Ingram

The Drinking Water Book, Second Edition by Colin Ingram ISBN-13: 978-1587612572 Trade Paperback: 200 pages Publisher: Celestial Arts Released: June 1, 2006

Source: Bought through Half.com.

Book Description from Back Cover:
The Drinking Water Book provides the information you need to determine what's in your tap water and to safeguard your health and the health of your family. Unlike water purifier manufacturers and public health officials, Ingram presents unbiased reporting on what's likely to be in your water, whether you live in a big city or a small town or have a well, and how to drink more safely--including some things you can do without spending a penny. Based on years of extensive water-quality research, including actual home installations of products, Ingram evaluates various bottled waters and rates specific purifiers currently on the market.


My Review:
This review is also on my Adventures With Organics blog.

The Drinking Water Book is a practical book to understanding water purifiers and bottled water. I was trying to do research on the internet about what each type of water purifier actually did (carbon filter, UV light, distiller, etc.) and how well, but I couldn't find consistent information. If the person was selling the device, the device did practically everything; if they weren't, the device hardly did anything so what you really needed was their device. This book provided clear, easy-to-understand answers to my questions.

The author started by talking about what types of things might be in your water (pathogens, toxic minerals and metals, organic chemicals, radioactive substances, additives) and their risks. He then talked about what is more likely to be in your water in a big city, a small city, or with a well, and about water testing. He discussed different health claims about distilled water, minerals in the water, etc. He then gave some easy ways to improve your tap water without any special equipment.

He then discussed bottled water, vended water, and bulk water stores. He talked about how filters (sediment, carbon filter, redox), reverse osmosis units, distillers, and ultraviolet units work, the different sub-types of each, what they do, and how frequently they need to be changed. He discussed using a combination of the above based on what you determined were the most probable problems with your water.

He evaluated the effectiveness of the different types of water purifiers while in actual use, compared the costs of different methods, discussed the best places to buy a water purifier, and evaluated specific brands (for house, camping, and traveling). He ended by discussing emergency disinfection of water and water storage.

If you're thinking about getting a water purification system or are concerned about your water, I'd highly recommend this book. With the knowledge from this book, you'll probably save the cost of this book through informed future water-related purchases...and you can feel assured you're actually getting what you want rather than having a false confidence based on promotional hype.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


Excerpt: Read an excerpt using Google Preview.

Las Vegas Then and Now by Su Kim Chung

Las Vegas Then and Now by Su Kim Chung ISBN-13: 9781592237340 Paperback: 144 pages Publisher: Thunder Bay Press Released: June 11, 2007

Source: Gift from a friend.

Book Description from Goodreads:
A photographic journey through the history of one of America's most distinctive towns, Las Vegas. Spanish explorers were the first to come to this desert oasis to enjoy its natural hot springs and named the spot Las Vegas, or 'the meadows.' Now just a century after it was founded in 1905, Las Vegas is the fastest growing metropolitan area in the US. Fascinating then-and-now photographs capture the city’s development from desert railroad outpost to the gambling and entertainment capital of the world.


My Review:
Las Vegas Then and Now is a picture-based history of various buildings in Las Vegas. The author described the history of the various buildings on each spot (what was built by whom and why) beneath pictures of the buildings being talked about. This book mainly covered Hoover Dam, the Fremont Street area, and the Strip. The text about future or recent projects sometimes read like a paid promotion, but it was not so noticeable as to take away from my enjoyment of the book. The book covered all the areas I was interested in except the current airport.

The pictures were very nice and gave a good sense of the development of Las Vegas. I sometimes would have liked a map, though (since I'm not a native to the area) to show where the buildings currently stand in relation to each other. I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to those who think it sounds interesting.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.